Very late to comment, but this is some of the best "in the trenches" info! I've had my CTP for over a decade, and with infrequent use I'm still on original ratchet. I have a bunch of spares, as well as a spare housing. Possibly the reason I have yet to replace it ;-). I also use a bit of dry lube on the index shaft. Thank you Re Loader. Cheers!
Well over 11k rounds and still on first ratchet.. always raise RAM before removing turret. I also lightly lube the rod, even though Lee says it doesn't need it..
Have a older classic . The primers are trapped under the press. Probably about 13 year's old. With about 80-90k rounds put through it. Have only replace the index rod once. And have went through about 4 of the square things.
The part is adequately engineered if the press is used properly. Prior to attempting to rotate the turret manually, the operator must raise the ram sufficiently for the ratchet mechanism to clear the spiral portion of the auto index rod. Breakage of the square ratchet insert is usually the result of not raising the ram before manually rotating the turret.
4,000 rounds of 308 and mine is trashed. On to the next one. Such a cheap part. You can get more rounds out of your square if you don't manually index the press. Good Luck!
I have the Lee Classic Turret Press and have loaded thousands of rounds on it with zero problems. Mine still has the original ratchet in place. I have bought a spare ratchet to keep on hand and it is still on hand. I had heard or read that it would be a problem with this press. Maybe I have just been lucky? Thanks for sharing.
If you go to Lee (link below) for this replacement part (TF3567) and put 1 (one) in your cart, it is FREE (zero cost), but you will have to pay shipping (which used to be $5, don't know what it is today, but probably more. My advice would be to add 5 (the additional 4 are $.75 cents each) so that you have a few on hand. You can also search online by the part number I listed and find them elsewhere, but probably at a higher cost. Lee LCT ratchet replacement part: leeprecision.com/square-ratchet
I broke and needed to replace my indexing ratchet only when I didn't have a spare. Have plenty of spares now but haven't needed one in many years. Murphy's Law.
Depending on what I'm doing, I will run the press w/o the indexing rod at times as well. Simply an amazing press for what it can do and how it can do it.
May be worth having one made from aluminium or brass to last longer, a little side project maybe... Also, using some oil between the 4 hole turret and 4 hole turret ring to extend the life of the square ratchet as mentioned on the Lee website: leeprecision.com/square-ratchet.html
@@Heavy-CThe funny thing is that I bought spares, and years later haven't needed them. Just be sure to keep things lubed up and the handle is in a position (ratchet not engaged) so the 4 hole Turret can rorate freely and things will continue to work flawlessly.
Oh well, after working just fine for thousands of rounds, I guess I'll have to turn it upside down then and now see how long it will last. Now I can stop losing sleep over this ;-)
@@ReLoadersBench funny enough i might try what you did, because i had to change the sqaure ratchet today and it still didnt index at all ! so hopfuly if i try it your way it might work
@@geezerp1982 I've also found (this might also be incorrect according to Lee) that the SINGLE best way to extend the life of the nylon ratchet is to remove the tool head ONLY when the ram is almost all the way up (shell holder not touching the dies). Removing the tool head with the ram down puts too much pressure on the indexing rod. YMMV. Can't even remember how many years it's been since I replaced the ratched...may 4.5 years ago when I made this video.
Good information, but far too much dead time. This could easily have been a 3 minute video, and you would have QUADRUPLED your viewership. Common problem with RU-vid videos. Thanks for making it anyway.
